Start Practicing Appreciation Today: 4 Simple Steps for Service Business Owners

Becoming a more appreciative leader will have immediate benefits to your business. The results should be noticeable pretty quickly. You’ll see changes in attitude and behavior. You’ll see it in the quality of the work being provided to your clients. To get the most benefit, you’ll need to build it into your business’s culture. And to do that, you’ll need to incorporate it into the systems and processes you use every day. You can learn more about how to do that by reading Zingerman’s book on this subject and related topics, or, better yet, by training with Zingtrain. 

If you’re not ready to do that or you aren’t big enough yet, here are 4 practical things you can do to get started now.

1. Practice the 4:1 ratio.
   1. “Deliver a daily average of four parts praise to one part constructive criticism.” (Weinzweig, 2014)
   2. Start to notice and, just as importantly, call out the things that go right more often than the things that go wrong.
   3. Your employees are much more likely to act on constructive criticism if they also receive regular doses of appreciation. 
2. Start tracking the positives.
   1. You can start tracking positive actions people are taking on your phone.
   2. Open a notes app on your phone. Create a note titled “Appreciation.” 
   3. Create a section for everyone who works for you. 
   4. Start tracking things you notice and appreciate about their work in the note.
   5. Now you have a running list for everyone on your team to reference in morning huddles, check-ins, team meetings, and more. 
3. Practice the 3-and-out rule. 
   1. “When I’m having a really rough day (which of course happens), positive appreciation is the easiest way I know to turn things around… The amazing thing is that by the time I’ve gone and appreciated at least three folks, it’s almost impossible for me to still be in a bad mood.” (Weinzweig, 2014)
   2. Before you head out for the day. Appreciate three people. Do it every day. It’s easier to do when it’s part of a routine. 
4. Add it to your new employee orientation.
   1. Make sure people know that when they start working for you, showing appreciation to their co-workers and clients is just part of what everyone at the business does. Encourage them to show appreciation every day. 
   2. Go over the ways above you all try to appreciate each other.
   3. If you don’t have a formal one yet, add it to the list of topics you cover with a new employee when they start. If you don’t have any employees yet but plan to, make a note on your phone and start tracking the items you need to review with that first employee on their first day. It’ll be good to have when the day comes, and it’s also a powerful vision of your future that you can use for motivation to get there.